— Yeah.— I don’t think so.— You don’t swing that way?— Naw.— Gee, don’t tell me the tabloids are lying?— (laughing)— What is the official status of the “Ramones”? Is the band kaput?— After “Lollapalooza” last year, we decided to call it quits. That’s why I formed my own band, wrote and produced my own album, cuz I’m younger than them. I still have the energy to do it, and I love doing it, and the kids like it. The kids are the ones that matter. I’ll continue as long as they come to the shows.

— What are the others doing?— Johnny’s retired. Joey might do the Tiny Tim story, as an actor. Tiny Tim did “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”. I have no idea what C.J’s doing. I just did an album with Dee Dee called “The Remains”.— Does Johnny have seasons tickets to the “New York Mets”?— Yeah probably. He loves sports, that’s his retirement hobby.

— Are you the youngest of the remaining “Ramones”?— I was until C.J. joined.— Exactly when did you join the band?— In early ’78, right after playing with “Richard Hell and The Voidoids”.

— It’s an amazing coincidence: to find players with the same last name. Exactly how does one become a Ramone?— It’s like a gang, a unit. Once you join, you become a Ramone for life. There have been some honorary “Ramones” along the way: Homer Simpson, Stephen King...— Wait a minute, Stephen King is an honorary Ramone?— We did the song for “Pet Sematary”. He always writes about us in his books. He’s a big “Ramones” fan. So we made him an honorary member. He’s a cool guy.

— Where’d you dig up that singer: Skinny Bones?— He wrote some stuff for the “Ramones” on the last two studio albums. He’s a friend who came to me through Johnny Thunders — uh, when he was alive. The other guys are from the New York area, from other bands, that I wanted.

— Who is Mark Neuman — he’s all over the record, but doesn’t appear to be an official “Intruder”?— Mark Neuman was in “Sheer Terror”. He was gonna be in the band, but he got Carpal Tunnel on his hand. It’s a disease that stiffens your muscles.— Will this New York punk style ever go out of fashion?— Naw it won’t. New York: it’s the attitude, the craziness. It’s a non-stop city. Constant movement. You feel it in the air, so you write about it... the gangs, the violence.— How do “The Intruders” compare with the “Ramones” on stage?— We zoom right through our songs, except now we have two guitar players. Everybody sings, and it’s a younger band.

— Do you stay behind the drum kit for the whole show?— Oh yeah, I only sing one song on the album. I don’t think drummers should sing live — it doesn’t look good.

— “Anxiety” is a killer “Ramones”-like tune...— Thank you. The “Ramones” wanted it for “Mondo Bizarro” and then I re-recorded it for this record. Skinny Bones’ voice is angrier and raspier than Joey’s. And I wanted that.— Are there any new bands out there carrying on the “Ramones” legacy?— There are a lot of bands imitating the “Ramones”, like “The Queers”. Any punk band you hear today has some “Ramones” or “Sex Pistols” in it.— Are you listening to the new stuff?— I listen to everything. I think the best representation of what an original punk band of today, is “Rancid”. They’re good friends. We have a side project going — me, Tim and Lars — called “No Brain”.

— What was a typical day in the life of a Ramone?— A lot of touring, in-store autographs, videos, soundchecks, hotels, flying, interviews — constantly.— When you weren’t doing music, what were you doing?— I was always making records, ever since I was 16 years old. When I was in high school I made my first album with a band called “Dust”.

— What’s your favourite poison?— My favourite poison was 151 — Baccardi Rum. But I’m a good boy now. If I didn’t stop fooling around I wouldn’t be able to keep playing. That’s more important.— Can you remember those times of excess?— Yeah, I’m gonna write a book. I have 185 Hi-8 tapes I recorded on my camera going back to 1986. I’m gonna put out a cool video: backstage, fooling around — things that a lot of kids didn’t see.— You must get a lot of requests for old “Ramones” material. How do you handle that?— I really don’t get requests for the old stuff. The only things I do is the stuff I wrote, and I throw in a Dee Dee song called “Outsider”.

— You cover “The Kinks” on the new album. Why are you dipping back to that era?— I wanted the album to end on a positive note.— Let’s go way, way back. Was there a turning point in your life, when you realized rock ‘n’ roll was in your blood?

— Yeah, my mother bought me the first “Beatles” album when I was 6 or 7. I thought it was like “The Chipmunks”, and I loved “The Chipmunks”. Then I started to like “The Beatles”, and wanted to play the drums. I saved up my newspaper delivery money and got a Japanese drum kit. That’s how I learned.

— Has it been a dream come true?— Pretty much, but I had to work hard. There’s so much competition.

— Where exactly are you from?— I’m from Brooklyn, near Ocean Parkway, Ocean Avenue. I grew up there. Then I moved to New York for about 5 or 6 years, but I hadda move back cuz it was too crazy there: kids coming to my door wanting to party with me.— I’ve always wondered about the long black mop top Ramone hair. Is that real?— Not Joey’s... naw, I’m only kiddin’.— I can’t imagine Joey without that hair.— Me either (laughing).